


A Lover Who's As Fine As You

by lady_ragnell



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Friendship, Team Gluttony, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-09
Updated: 2015-09-09
Packaged: 2018-04-19 22:31:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4763447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lady_ragnell/pseuds/lady_ragnell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elyan sort of accidentally ends up with a date to his sister's wedding, and a new best friend while he's at it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Lover Who's As Fine As You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [growlery](https://archiveofourown.org/users/growlery/gifts).



> Written for a write-each-other-presents post at team gluttony.
> 
> Title from "Hey Na Na" by Katie Herzig.

“You look like you're drinking to drown your sorrows,” says the woman with the riot of blonde hair and the dress way too sparkly for the pub Elyan is drinking at. “Luckily for both of us, I'm drinking to drown mine as well.”

Elyan raises his eyebrows. “Why is that lucky for us?”

“Because we can go in together on a bottle, it's a lot cheaper than shots.” She waves at the bartender, who looks like he's not sure if he's annoyed or like his birthday came early. “I'm Vivian.”

“Elyan. Have you got a whole bottle's worth of sorrows to drown?”

She scoffs. “I got an invitation to my ex's wedding with a plus-one attached, which is a challenge, but unfortunately one that I cannot presently meet.”

Elyan raises his glass. “I got an invitation to my sister's, and she's already worried about my commitment issues. I can't show up without a date.”

Vivian sits down on the barstool next to him and makes a series of gestures that gets a bottle of top-shelf Scotch set down between them. “What do you want to bet,” she says, “that they're the same wedding?”

He's not sure which of them says it, half a bottle and a few hours later, but he remembers the phrasing exactly: “I think I have an awful idea.”

*

“So, you. You and Vivian RSVPed to the wedding together. This morning.”

Elyan winces at Gwen's tentative voice on the phone, and he knows she's waiting for her to say that he was joking or drunk or something. “Yes, we did,” he says instead. He slept on Vivian's couch last night, and they discussed the plan over leftover takeout. It's actually a fairly solid plan, considering they came up with it while they were drunk and upset. “I know it's a little weird, me bringing Arthur's ex, but Arthur invited her in the first place. It shouldn't be that strange.”

“I just wanted to be sure. She and Arthur broke up because she wanted to get married faster than he did. That didn't seem like ...”

“We hardly know each other yet, Gwen, she's not going to start asking for diamonds. But we happened to meet up and we happened to need dates and she's fun. I can see why you might have some trouble with her, but it's just a wedding date. That's it.”

“As long as you're sure,” she says, but her voice is already softer. “I'm glad you'll have someone there to spend time with in between groomsman duties.”

Elyan makes a face. “You know, Gwaine is trying to take over the bachelor party from Leon. You might want to do something about that.”

Gwen snorts and lets him change the subject, and he's glad not to bring Vivian up for the remainder of the phone call.

*

“We're going out to dinner.”

Elyan already recognizes that tone of voice. Vivian's called him twice since they agreed to go to the wedding together, once to confirm that he wanted to do it now that he'd had time to think about it and once to tell him she's wearing blue and he can do what he likes with that information. “Hi, Vivian. Tonight? I had plans involving Zelda and pizza.”

“Well, now you have plans involving this new Italian place Elena recommended to me, and then you can have all the plans involving Zelda you like. You could even invite me, if you felt like being polite.”

“Sure, Vivian, you can come over to my place and play video games.”

“Excellent. I'm texting you an address. Reservation is for half past six. We'll eat fast so there's plenty of time for me to cream you, which you deserve after sounding sarcastic.”

She hangs up, then, and Elyan can't help laughing when he gets the text. He doesn't much mind being ordered around, as long as she doesn't mind him digging his heels in when it matters. _Yes, Captain_ , he sends back, and twenty minutes later he gets _Captain. I like that_ and laughs again.

It's not anything, really, just a solidarity date, but it's making him feel better about all the awkwardness of family weddings already.

*

Vivian isn't exactly a friend, but she starts calling him up once a week or so and ordering him out for dinner or a movie or to her place for food and video games, and Elyan goes. He's halfway across the country from most of his family and friends—he has no idea how Vivian ended up here too, and he hasn't asked yet—so it's nice to have someone to boss him out of the house. He think she and Gwen could like each other, even, if Vivian could wind herself down for a few seconds.

“So, I'm the crazy ex, right?” Vivian asks one night when they're on Elyan's couch instead of hers, taking advantage of the sinfully good curry that delivers to his neighborhood. “When Arthur tells stories, I mean.”

“I'm not as close to Arthur as you think I am.”

“That's a yes, then.” She elbows him. “Don't lie to me, it's tiresome. And I was a little … I mean, he was talking about destiny too, so I was not on my own there.”

Elyan is going to cherish that image, just a little bit. Arthur has always seemed like a fairy-tale prince, it's good that he's had his share of weird past relationships. “Yeah, it's kind of a yes. Though in all fairness I don't think anything beats Lamia who tried to kill Percival that time.”

“Ah good, nice to know where I rank on the scale of attempted murder.” She draws her knees up to her chin. She's wearing his sweatpants, her work dress discarded on the towel rail in his bathroom where she'll inevitably forget it. “I think some people get a little too into each other, you know? Arthur and I were a horrible idea but it was too good to stop.”

“I know how that goes.”

“You know, I think perhaps you do.”

Vivian may not exactly be a friend, but Elyan is starting to think that she's his best one anyway.

*

The wedding is sweet. Elyan stands at the front of the church and blinks back tears when Gwen comes down the aisle, listens to Arthur's voice break three times during the vows, and joins everyone in celebrating when the minister declares them man and wife.

The reception is only bearable because Vivian is there. Everyone is inclined to slap Elyan on the back and ask when he's coming home, or ask him what he's up to, and Vivian, when she isn't with Elena and Mithian, leans against his shoulder at their table and makes comments under her breath about who's sleeping with who and who is obviously trying to outshine the bride.

“You're happy?” Gwen asks when he dances with her, and Elyan knows he isn't imagining that she's glancing over at Vivian. “Good with everything?”

“I'm happy, Gwen, everything is fine. You shouldn't be fretting over me at your own wedding.”

“I can't help worrying over my little brother.” She smiles at him. “I'm glad. If you ever come to visit in town, we would have you and Vivian to dinner.”

“We're really not anything, I promise. We're just keeping each other company.”

“So you expect me to think you'll hardly talk again once you go back home?”

They rode on the train together even though it meant Vivian got to town two days early, and they've already made brunch plans at a new restaurant for next weekend. “Of course not. But she's a friend.”

Gwen kisses him on the cheek as the song finishes. “Well, as I said. You're always welcome, and she is too, if you want to bring her along.”

*

Vivian gets tipsy enough off wedding champagne that Elyan escorts her up to her hotel room, two doors down from his, and comes in with her to help her with the buckles on her shoes when she demands assistance.

“Just so I know whether my lingerie investments are going to pay off,” she says while he's working on the left one, meditative, “are you planning to fuck me?”

Elyan pauses and then goes back to work on the shoe, since it has to come off. “Not tonight, thanks, you're too drunk for it.”

“Investment doesn't mean one pair of nice lace panties for a wedding, honestly. I've been wearing satin just in case for ages.” She puts her other foot in his lap. Elyan obligingly starts on the shoe. It seems the thing to do. “If you don't want to tonight that's fine, but honestly, the train trip tomorrow will be a lot more interesting if I can make out with you. Plus, check-out time isn't till ten in the morning, and I'll certainly be sober by then.”

“Interesting proposition.” Elyan smiles and doesn't bother hiding it.

“You don't think I'm going to ask you to marry me the second we sleep together, right? Because I've told you before, that was Pendragon-related madness, I am really unlikely to demand diamonds. That's the fun thing about affording them yourself.”

“I don't think you're going to demand I marry you, and thanks for bringing up my brother-in-law and killing anything resembling a mood.”

Vivian huffs and kicks off her shoes. “Oh, come on, you weren't going to fuck me tonight regardless, I just thought I ought to put all the cards on the table. So you'll go back to your room, and I'll set my alarm for seven, and you won't arrive before eight so I'll be sure that my breath smells nice and my hair is perfect by the time you come. Clear?”

Elyan laughs, because there's really nothing else to do. “Clear. Shall I leave you, then?”

“I'll expect you in the morning. Bright and early.” She bends to kiss him sloppily on the cheek. “Don't be late.”

“Wouldn't miss it for the world.”

*

“Well,” says Vivian, at her hotel room door in the morning, hair perfectly curled and wearing a hotel bathrobe, “are you coming in or not?”

Elyan grins and lets himself be dragged inside.

*

“So you and Vivian are actually a thing now?”

Elyan rolls his eyes. Vivian, sprawled on his couch, makes a face at him in response. “Yes.”

“And that's going … well?”

“I would say so. Aren't you meant to be telling me all about Italy?”

Gwen sighs, and it comes out more fond than exasperated. “You saw all of my pictures online already, I'm sure. This is actually news! I'm not trying to be nosy, but I just want to make sure that you're happy.”

They paused a movie Vivian was ripping to shreds so he could take the call, and Elyan is pretty sure from her smirk that he hasn't seen the last of her very impressive lingerie collection. They haven't had more than a few weeks to figure things out, but Elyan certainly doesn't have any complaints. “I'm happy.” Vivian makes another face at him, but there's a smile behind it. “Now tell me about Italy.”

“Of course,” says Gwen, and it sounds like she's smiling.

*

“Still not planning to propose,” Vivian says sleepily in bed, her hair halfway in his mouth, just as wry as it is every time she says it.

She might not be planning marriage, but Elyan is.


End file.
